A Life I Might've Known
by Spicy Tuna Fish Chopper
Summary: Based off 2012 Movie: Marius did not fight...Cosette did not leave...what would happened if they did not do what they were meant to, but with dire consequences? please R
1. Chapter 1

**I know this doesn't follow the typical story line, but I'm an extreme advocate for Eponine and Marius being together! Based off the 2012 movie revival. I don't own any of the rights (though I wish I did). Please Enjoy!**

The room burst with energy as the young men roared with pride and anger. Enjolras raised his hand to silence his friends, feeling the excitement and anxiety to act beginning to fill him, almost exploding.

"My friends!" he shouted. They quiet down quickly, turning a sea of eyes to the handsome light hair young man standing at the front of the room, eyes dancing with thrill. Marius stood at the back of the room, grinning at his friend but constantly glancing to the back, waiting for Eponine to appear on the staircase.

Gavroche shouted, rushing in. "General Lamarque is dead!" The young boy's chest heaved from his sprinting and flashed a triumphant smile at Enjolras and the older Revolutionaries.

"Lamarque is dead. Lamarque! His death is the hour of fate. The people's man. His death is the sign we await!" Enjolras called. The crowds roared in return when Marius felt a soft hand on his arm. His head snapped, bright eyes boring down to Eponine's dirty face. She smiled faintly, gesturing for him to follow. He rushed to the stairs, briefly turning to meet Enjolras' eyes as he fled. Enjolras shot Marius an angry look but did nothing as Marius continued down the stairs and into the dying afternoon light, following tiny Eponine. She moved quickly through the streets, ducking through alleys and avoiding guard patrols until she stopped for a moment, glancing nervously back at Marius. His eyes shone with excitement and nervousness.

"Where is she?" he whispered breathlessly. She sighed sadly, gesturing to an iron gate embedded in tall gray stonewalls. He rushed to the gate, catching sight of the beautiful blond girl from the market place before. She gasped softly and then smiled, approaching through the willow boughs, golden hair twisted in a braid. Eponine flinched as their eyes met and ducked behind the wall, feeling her heart squeeze and ache. He never looked at her like that not once. And now, he never would. She whimpered softly but remained pressed against the wall, out of from Marius' view.

"Hello…I—how are…? Oh god, I'm doing everything all wrong. I don't even know your name," Marius laughed softly, unable to tear his eyes away. She giggled faintly, glancing at her slippers with embarrassment. Eponine felt her heart clench angrily at their exchange and nearly turned away. But Marius' face, his elation kept her rooted to the ground, just watching him grow happier and happier. She leaned against the wall heavily once again, taking deep breaths to keep from crying.

"My name is Marius Pontmercy."

"And mine's Cosette."

He grinned broadly. "Cosette, I don't even know what to say."

"Then don't make a sound." They remained for a few moments in silence, simply staring into each other's eyes.

"Cosette?!" The spell was broken by a rough voice in the distance. She gasped, darting away from Marius.

"My father. I have to go!" Marius made a noise to stop her, but Cosette rapidly disappeared into the tree boughs.

"Cosette, where are you?" the voice continued to call, a large figure moving loudly through the garden. She flashed Marius an apologetic smile and rushed away. Marius hid behind the wall as a large, older man comes to the gate, looking cautiously back and forth on the street before retreating, following Cosette. A wild smile remained plastered on Marius' face when he walked down the street again, casting glances full of longing back towards the iron gate. Eponine rose from her crouch, feeling the tears and anguish build up in her chest. She gasped and put an arm on the wall to support herself, her knees buckling with grief when she heard a familiar voice. She looked up sharply, spotting her father ambling down the street followed by his gang.

"Father? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh Eponine! Good, keep watch!" he chortled, shoving her away from the gate. She looked on with horror as she realized he meant to rob Cosette's house.

"No! There is nothing here of value! Please, just a meager old man and his daughter!" she said quickly, grabbing his arms. Thénardier threw her off, gesturing to the men to get ready.

"If you rob this house, I will scream and alert the whole neighborhood!" she threatened. Her words shocked her. She thought for a moment, why she would be willing to save Cosette and her father from robbery. She couldn't quite figure it out yet but continued giving her father a stubborn look. He approached her quickly.

"If you make a sound, I will make you regret the day you were born," he growled. She swallowed the terrified lump forming in her throat and opened her mouth, letting out a shrill scream when her father turned away. Troops of guards near by came rushing. Thénardier howled angrily, swinging out his hand, catching Eponine in the cheek. She grunted, reeling and fell to the floor with the force of the blow. The guards ran by, chasing Thénardier and his men away, leaving Eponine crying softly on the cobble stone street, the left side of her face throbbing from the force of the blow. She rose slowly, cupping her face in her hands. Moaning softly, Eponine spotted Cosette in the archway, tucking a small slip of paper into the iron door. Cosette glanced into the street and fled again. Eponine grabbed the note, ripping it open. Rain started dripping from the sky, blurring the freshly inked words, but Eponine could still read the message, intended for Marius.

With disgust, she placed the note in her pocket, heading home as a large red welt formed on her face. Eponine wandered aimlessly through the streets for hours until she suddenly found herself in front of Marius' apartment, dead tired and soaked to the bone. The blow stung bitterly in the cold. She climbed the stairs, feeling the note burn in her pocket. She paused outside his door for a few moments, fingering the note in her pocket and then knocked, leaving the paper hidden.

Marius threw open the door, his face full of love and happiness. His grin faltered for a moment when he saw Eponine. She flinched internally, pushing past him into the room.

"Eponine? What's wrong?" he asked, gently removing her slender fingers from her cheek. Water dripped softly on the ground off the hem of her tattered gown, leaving wet marks as she moved. When she turned to face him, Marius gasped softly at the sight of the bruise, rushing to the water jug on his table, splashing cool water on to a rag before pressing it to Eponine's face.

"I need to tell you something—"

"Who did this to you?" She could tell he was angry. He pressed the rag to her face, easing the stinging pain from her father's blow.

"Who did this to you?" he asked again, his voice dropping to a threatening growl. She sighed, pushing away his concerned hand and held the cloth herself, feeling her cheeks burn from his touch.

"It was an accident," she mumbled. He looked at her with disbelief but shrugged nonetheless, leading her to sit on his bed. He wrapped a thick blanket around her shoulder then chatted amicably for a few moments until Eponine rose slowly, heading to the open window, with the note feeling like a million kilos in her pocket. She clutched the blanket tightly around her shoulder, but it couldn't seem to block out a sudden chill she felt in her gut.

"Eponine?"

"I lied to you," she whispered softly.

"What?" His voice rose with alarm.

She sighed with regret but continued anyway. "I should've told you when I arrived. It's about Cosette." He leapt off the bed, coming to stand closely in front of her.

"How's my beloved?"

"She's not your bel—" Eponine stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She gazed at Marius strongly and chose her words carefully.

"I saw her father and her leaving a few moments ago by carriage. She's gone." Marius remained still for a moment before bolting to the door, leaving Eponine alone in his apartment, tears trickling down her cheek. She replaced the towel next to his washing bowl and walked out on to the dark street, heading to her own, dirty, tiny apartment. Eponine walked slowly through the streets, the tears running down her cheeks. She reached the apartment numbly, grabbing clothes she'd stolen from a local washwoman. She bound her chest tightly, feeling each turn of the binding strengthen her anger and bitterness. She knew Enjolras would start the revolution tomorrow at Lamarque's funeral and she was going to be there.

* * *

Marius charged through the streets, knocking into the occasional pedestrian as he reached Cosette's house.

"Cosette!" he shouted, frightened by the open front gate. He burst through the front gate, rushing to the house door.

"Please!" he cried, pounding on the door. An open window caught his eye and he ducked in, finding the house empty and abandoned. Eponine was right. They were long gone. He cried out angrily, walking aimlessly through the garden. In the distance, he could here the chants of the revolution and knew Enjolras was preparing for the first day of revolution tomorrow.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" a cranky voice comes from the door. He looked feebly at the iron gate. An old, hunched over man stood there, brandishing keys in his clenched fist.

"I'm sorry—"

"If you're looking for the gentleman who lived her, you just missed him. They just left for…"

* * *

Eponine walked the streets as the sun rose above the houses. She tugged a hat on her head snuggly, hiding her long hair beneath the dirt brown cap. Enjolras stood in the inn, talking softly to Grantaire, Gavroche, and many others. She approached slowly when she spotted a short figure sticking out in the crowd. She deviated from her friends, frowning at the strange, clearly lost figure in the crowd.

"Excuse me," she tapped the person's shoulder and gasped. Cosette gasped in return, clamping her hand over her mouth, revealing her thin, pale arms as the huge coat sleeves rolled down. Eponine grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the inn.

"What are you doing here?" she growled. Cosette pulled away, frowning.

"I should be asking you the same thing," she snapped, fixing the blue cap on her blond hair. Eponine rolled her eyes with exasperation.

"I'm here to fight for the cause. This is not a playground, Cosette," she snarled. Cosette whimpered slight but jutted her chin out stubbornly.

"I'm here for Marius." Eponine clenched her teeth, pulling Cosette off the street as a few of the Revolutionaries came into the street, shouting and cheering. They ducked behind a building.

"You cannot be here! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Eponine insisted, dragged Cosette away from the barricade. Cosette struggled against Eponine's tight grip, grunting and shrieking.

"Why do you care? I saw the way you looked at Marius. You love him," Cosette whimpered. Eponine dropped her grip, sighing.

"You're right…"

"But I love him too and I am going to be here and stand by his side!" she argued, clutching her fists to her chest.

"I love him, and that's why you can't die," she whispered. "Because he deserves to be happy. Even if he's not with me." Cosette's eyes filled with tears and embraced Eponine. Eponine tensed for a few seconds before returning the girl's embrace.

Marius sprinted through the unfamiliar town, keeping his eyes trained on the monastery tower ahead. The bells started ringing to signal the changing hour as he burst into the church, filled with praying parishioners. A young nun glanced up from her folded hands, shooting an angry look at him. The door creaked loudly, shutting with a loud groan as Marius sprinted across the stone floor, making a beeline for the priest stand on the opposite of the church.

"Father," Marius called, gasping. The short, bald man smiled kindly at Marius, allowing the young man to catch his breath.

"What can I do for you?"

"I am looking for a man. And his daughter," he replied. The priest frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry…"

"A tall, burly man. Well-dressed. He probably came in a few hours ago by carriage. A young lady, blond, was traveling with him. I was told they came here to seek refuge in the monastery," he gasped.

"Hmmm…A man did arrive today. I will take you to him." The priest gestured for Marius to followed and walk briskly to a corridor a few steps away. They traveled rapidly through the cool halls, long torches embedded in the gray stone.

"Here," he said, pausing a plain wooden door. Marius thanked the priest and knocked. The priest disappeared behind Marius, his soft footsteps echoing off the ancient walls as Marius waited, hoping Cosette's face awaited him on the other side of the door. After a moment of silence and some groans from within, the man he knew as Cosette's father opened the door, his face tired and sad.

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously, closing the door slightly.

"You don't know me, but I am Marius Pontmercy. I know your daughter."

"Cosette?"

"Yes!" Marius could feel the excitement growing inside him. The older man's face fell and opened the door fully, revealing the empty room.

"You're too late. She is gone." Marius' eyes widened and he leapt into the room, head wiping around until he confirmed his worst fear. She was not there. He spun back to the man at the door.

"Monsieur, you must tell me where she went!" he cried. The man sighed and walked slowly to a table and pulled a folded piece of paper off it. He reluctantly handed it to Marius before falling on the bed, head drooped in his hands.

"She went back?"

"Yes. I think she was looking for you," he said softly through his hands. By the time Jean Valjean had the courage to look up again, the boy was gone, sprinting out the corridor, the note left fluttering in his wake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't know Les Misérables, though it is an amazing piece of work. I got some good feedback from the first chapter, so I'm going to continue with this. I apologize if I cannot update often. I am a very busy person.**

Marius could feel terror growing stronger and stronger in his gut as he sprinted through town again, hearing the sounds of the rebellion echoing in the streets. Bodies lay strewn on the cobble stone roads as he got closer and closer to the inn. He paused momentarily, casting a frightened look down at a young woman lying dead in the street. He recognized her, she was a constant face in the inn, always laughing and talking with them. She was now dead, a bullet through her heart, eyes wide open and glazed over with death. He shuddered, kneeling quickly to close her eyes. He sprinted away quickly, hearing the cries of battle and the booms of gunfire growing stronger and stronger. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

* * *

Eponine gripped the rifle tightly, lying flat on to of the barricade. The soldiers continued to open fire, occasionally hitting one of the men around her. She squeezed both eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The gun popped loudly, deafening to her ear. When she opened her eyes again, a man lay dead at the edge of the barricade, scarlet blood staining his uniform. She gagged violent and slithered off the wall of chairs and doors. Cosette waited before, hiding in a small nook of the wooden structure. She vomited on the street, feeling the acid burn her throat until she could stop, casting a feeble glance at Cosette. The other girl's eyes were huge and frightened but she remained still.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, watching Eponine wipe her mouth on her dirty sleeve. The raven-hair girl nodded and joined Cosette in her hiding place.

"When will this be over?" Cosette asked stiffly, wringing her hands beneath her large coat. Eponine shrugged.

"When the last man falls." Eponine crawled out again, grabbing a fallen magazine of gunpowder and reloaded her rifle. As she returned to Cosette, a large portion of the barricade to their right exploded. Eponine's eyes widened with fear. She yanked Cosette off the ground, hiding her behind a stonewall and crawled up the barricade again. She sighed with defeat. Cannons.

"Hold your position!" Enjolras shouted from the distance, standing proudly on the barricade and fired his two pistols into the oncoming wave of soldiers, bullets whizzing by him, yet he seemed untouchable. Eponine smiled grimly and clamored down from the barricade.

"We need to get somewhere safer," Eponine said, approaching Cosette quickly. The blond girl nodded when her eyes suddenly widened with terror.

"Eponine watch out!" she screamed, barreling into Eponine. With a grunt, Eponine fell, the rifle sliding out of her reach, clattering loudly on the cobblestones. And with a loud crack, Eponine whipped around, watching Cosette crumble to the ground next to her.

"No!" Eponine cried. Enjolras heard her scream and turned, shooting the soldier that had managed to get on top of the barricade and had been aiming to shoot Eponine. Joly comes running and drags Cosette away, leaving Eponine crying on the blood soaked ground.

Marius flinched, a single loud crack resonating above the rest and a woman's scream followed. He broke into a desperate sprint, coming upon the barricade, watching a group of his friends carry off a fallen figure. He yanked the pistol from his belt, shot into the crowd of soldiers, drawing their attention away from the barricade. He dove behind an abandoned cart, feeling the bullets ricochet into the splintering wood. He crawled quickly, disappearing behind the barricade.

"Marius!" Enjolras gasped, pulling the tall young man to his feet. Marius grinned, clapping his serious friend on the back before casting a searching glance over the fighting revolutionaries. Cosette's face was nowhere to be seen. He glanced at a small figure crouched on top of the barricade, grasping a huge rifle and shooting wildly. With a sudden blast, another cannon barreled into the barricade, knocking many of the young men scrambling across the barricade to the hard, wet ground.

The small figure that had caught Marius' eye flew back as well. The cap lodged over the small creature's face was knocked off, revealing a long tangle of raven hair. His heart hitched in his heart. _Eponine_. He ripped away from Enjolras, arriving at Eponine's side within seconds, checking her over quickly for injuries. She seemed fine, only slightly dazed from the explosion. She looked at his face with confusion.

"Marius?" she asked with disbelief, tears brimming in her eyes. He nodded. She wrapped her arms around him, gripping him tightly. He returned the embrace, silently thanking God that his friend was still alive.

"What are you doing here?" he scolded.

"Fighting. Where have you been?" she snapped.

"Nowhere. Eponine, where's Cosette?" he asked urgently, ending the hug prematurely.

"Cosette?" Eponine seemed devastated by the question. He looked at her face closely, surprised to find grief, exhaustion, and blood grinded into the pale, youthful face he knew so well from years of friendship.

"Where is she? Her father told me she returned here," he said. Eponine sighed, climbing to her feet, pulling Marius out of the line of fire, refitting the cap on her head.

"She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Marius' voice grew pained.

"I mean she's dead." The tears that were brimming in Eponine's eyes finally spilled over, leaving streaks of white skin through the brown grime and scarlet blood that stained her cheeks. Something inside Marius snapped and his face grew somber. He slowly kneeled on the ground, feeling his eyes begin to burn like never before. He blinked violently, keeping back the tears and then looked up at Eponine. She crouched in front of him and slowly wrapped her arms around him, murmuring words of comfort as he started sobbing into her shoulder. They sat there for a few moments, ignoring the explosions and cries of death before pulling apart slowly.

"What am I going to do?" he asked softly.

"Fight. Fight to live another day," she whispered fiercely, clasping his face between her hands. Eponine fought the urge to kiss Marius and dragged him to his feet and planted a pistol in his hand.

"Fight for Cosette, Marius," she said. "She's still with you." Marius nodded firmly and strode into the fight again, joining Enjolras and finally fired into the dense smoke building up around the barricade from the guns constantly going off. Eponine grabbed a rifle from a fallen revolutionary, pausing for a moment to close his eyes and reentered the fray, climbing up on the barricade next to Marius.

* * *

Javert paced back and forth, listening to the burst and crackles of gunfire, smiling grimly as his lieutenants reported to him that the revolutionaries were slowly falling back and losing ground.

"Before the next sunrise, I am sure we will have overrun the barricade," the man said. Javert nodded, fingering the handle of his saber and glanced out the window. Jean Valjean was still out there, still terrorizing the carefully ordered society yet now he, Inspector Javert, had to deal with a group of schoolboys who wanted to kill themselves.

"Very well," he replied. "Make sure it happens." He walked away, mounted his horse and disappeared into the city. Javert rode straight for the nearest police station. The guards inside nodded as the inspector walked through, making a beeline for the head officer's office. He opened the door quickly, shooing out the assistant.

"I have need of your men."

"Inspector Javert. How good to see you too. I'm sorry, but I do not have any men to spare. This silly revolution is costing me all my resources," he replied, barely looking up from the papers he wrote on. Javert approached the desk slowly, leaning forward over the desk until the bald man looked up.

"Did it sound like I was asking? No, I am _telling_ you to give me your men," he growled.

* * *

Marius grunted as another explosion racked the barricade, knocking off another chunk. This time, he thought desperately, it would not be replaced. All the chairs and furniture from the surrounding houses had been used to build the initial barricade and most of it was already blown to smithereens. He had lost track of Enjolras and his other friends but Eponine remained glued to his side. He was oddly comforted by her presence, shouting vulgarities at the soldiers and shooting whenever she could risk it or had ammunition. Another problem for the young men: they were running out of powder and bullets and night was beginning to fall. Gavroche, the youngest of the revolutionaries remained diligent, running around delivering messages and salvaging ammunition even when the young men, all more than twice his age, were collapsed with fatigue.

The fighting died down for a few seconds as night closed over the city and the army withdrew. Marius sighed with relief, slumping down on a broken table nearby, wiping soot and blood off his face. Eponine offered him some water, which he accepted with gratitude and swallowed feverishly.

"We're running out of bullets," Enjolras murmured, sitting himself next to Marius.

"How much longer?"

"Not much."

"What are we going to do?" Marius inquired frankly. Enjolras sighed, running a dirty hand through his curly hair and looked over at his friend.

"I do not know. But I am not giving up," he replied. Marius grinned, clapping him on the shoulder and collapsed with exhaustion, leaning against a fallen chunk of wood.

"Joly, you take the first watch," Enjolras instructed. Marius fell asleep with the sounds of the other men around him organizing and preparing for the next day. It would either bring them victory or defeat. But no matter what, he knew it would be a blood bath.

Marius woke to silence, not even the chirping of birds, much less the gunfire he expected. He climbed over the barricade slowly, spotting Enjolras curled up in a ball next to Gavroche, Joly, and Grantaire. Other young men were scattered across the barricade but Marius feared some were not sleeping. He peeked over the edge of the barricade and saw the army. They were moving silently, pushing the cannons forward silently and edging closer and closer to the wooden edges of the wall. He scrambled down quickly again, shaking the shoulders of those closest to him. Enjolras leapt atop the barricade, firing a shot into the air. The rest of the men jumped to their feet and as Marius had feared, many did not.

"_Bonjour_," Enjolras growled, pointing his smoking pistol at the closest soldier. The captain of the guards smiled grimly and raised a fist. With a single word, the barricade with thrown into turmoil, explosions and destruction once again. Marius dove as bullets sailed towards him and cannon balls destroyed the platform he'd been standing on.

"Eponine?"

**Note: Ta-Da! I know I haven't updated in a while and that's why I am super uper duper grateful to all my readers out there who diligently wait. I am going to be out of town for a while and I probably not update for about a month, so enjoy this chapter and I'll see y'all in March!**


End file.
